When You’re in the Middle of a Trial: A New Look at an Old Problem

What if Jesus looked you in the eye and said, “Satan has asked to sift you like wheat”?

I can’t think of a single person who would want to hear these words. Words like these make us recoil. Or run. Or rebutt the possibility they could be true.

And yet, this is exactly what Jesus said to Peter (Luke 22:31).

Before you stop reading because the topic of trials, testing, and sifting by Satan sounds mobid, don’t. I’m about to share an insight I’ve never noticed before; one that’s radically reframed my perspective, and bolstered my tenacity for Christ during the tumultous testing of trials.

Here’s the scene:

It was Jesus’ last Passover supper; the night before Christ’s betrayal and crucifiction, minutes before Jesus would walk into His own trial–the biggest trial of all time. The cross.

Peter, the disciple who professed unwavering faith in Jesus, was about to encounter a situation that would rock his world. A “sifting” Jesus called it.

 

Though Jesus prepared Peter and the other disciples all along for his departure, they just didn’t get it. At least, not until their world caved in.

Have you ever felt like perhaps you were being sifted like wheat?  Maybe you are being sifted right now. Maybe Satan has asked if he can sift YOU like wheat.

Being sifted–tried and tested–is tumultous. But it has a purpose. I once heard Pastor Steven Furkick say, “We don’t like tests, but we like things that have been tested; things that have been tested can be trusted.”

Once we’ve been sifted we see ourselves a bit more clearly. Pride no longer reigns in our lives. Humility marks us.

Before Peter’s sifting he was confident. Cocky, even. “Even if they all fall away, I never will”, he proclaimed.  Just a few hours later Peter ate his words.  He denied even knowing Jesus – his friend, his mentor, his savior, his Lord – not once but 3 times.  Yes, Satan sifted Peter and sadly he failed.

Failure.

Does anything leave you feeling worse?

But, here’s the cool part.  It’s what Jesus said to Peter after he told him Satan had asked to sift him like wheat.  It’s the part “b” of Jesus’s sentence.

“Satan has asked to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you….”

Can you imagine Jesus saying that to you?  “Yes, sweet girl, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you”.

What Jesus did for Peter he does for you and me.  The Bible makes it clear that right now Jesus stands before the Father interceding – praying – for us.  Romans 8 tells us that when we don’t even know how to pray the Holy Spirit prays for us “with groans too deep for words.”   Now, that’s being prayed for!

And it gets even better….

Jesus continued, ” I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail.  And when you turn back, strengthen your brothers.”

What did Jesus pray for?  That Peter’s faith would not fail.  What is Jesus praying for you today?  That, even when sifted, your faith would not fail.

But wait, Peter’s faith did fail, didn’t it?

Well, yes.

But not for long.

“And when you turn back”, Jesus said.  Not if.  When.  Peter was the real deal.  Though he had moments of failure they were just that – moments.  His failure refined him.  Humbled him.  Made him even more committed to follow Christ with all his heart.

In short, he turned back.

And then he strengthened his brothers.

Are you being sifted right now?  Are circumstances heavy on your heart?  Do you feel like just giving up or giving in?

Listen to Jesus.  He is praying for you.  He is praying for your faith not to fail.  But if it already has, turn back.  He’s waiting.  He has a job for people who have been sifted and turned back.

Strengthen your brothers.

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” (Luke 22:31-32)